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Brown pebbles for landscaping Melbourne

What is rock mulch?

March 3, 2020
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Construction, Landscape Design, Landscaping, Maintenance, Materials
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Posted by Parveen

What is it?

What is rock mulch? I get this question a lot.

It stems from the general perception that “mulch” only relates to material made from chipped wood.

Rock “mulch” is basically a groundcover material made of your chosen size of screenings, pebbles or small rocks.

Now you’re going to ask me, what are these in turn as they all seem to mean the same thing?

In fact they don’t.  Let’s explore them below.

The different types

Pebbles – These are generally more rounded and are generally sold as river pebbles.  So they look more “polished” and less rough.

Screenings – These are usually used as the base to make concrete and usually bought in bulk.  They are “rough” looking visually and to the touch.

Mini rocks – these can either be small and fit within your fist or they can get as large as a foot or bigger in size.  Some are rounded whilst some are a little flat.

All of the above come in different sizes, from different sources (both local and overseas) and have different colours or tones.

View of courtyard with wall to wall water feature from the upstairs bedrooms

The colour variation is larger in products bought in bulk.  Highly polished pebbles bought in small bags have minimal colour variation.  All of these are “mined” and are natural stone.  The sizing varies between them, ranging from as small as 7mm to a foot or larger.

None of these products are “toppings” and do not have concrete in them.  So they are loose textured when walked on.

Are they really mulch?

Definitely.
“Mulch is any material that is spread or laid over the surface of the soil as a covering. It is used to retain moisture in the soil, suppress weeds, keep the soil cool, and make the garden bed look more attractive.”
The only thing rock mulch probably doesn’t as well as timber or organic mulch is to keep the ground as cool – something that you should remember when you’re designing your garden.  Why?  They attract heat so this will impact your planting choices and you need to make modifications to your plan to get around this challenge!

Why do I love using them?

I love using natural materials in my designs that I love including rocks of any form in them, when I can.  I do of course have my favourites!

Examples of how to use them

Glen Waverley garden design with dry rock creek bed and mixed planting of exotics and native Australian plants

Try jazzing up your garden with some of these looks if you like using rock!  It’s just a matter of finding the right colour, sizes and texture that appeals to you!

Closeup of succulents used in Brighton garden design front entry path

Vermont South A

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Kew

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Blackburn

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Ashburton A

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Burwood

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Hungry for more information on using rocks and pebbles in your garden?

Then check out the following articles:

What is mulch?

Rock v Bark

In the meantime, visit my past projects below which may give some inspiration!

Doncaster

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Glen Waverley

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Doncaster East

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Vermont South A

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Ashburton A

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If you need further suggestions or design or plantscaping both indoors and outdoors, please contact us for an onsite 90 minute consultation. 

Refer to our packages for further detail on how we can help you in the consults and subsequently throughout your garden implementation process.

Our passion your garden! xx

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🎶The long and winding road, that leads, to your 🎶The long and winding road, that leads, to your door⁠⁠
Will never disappear, I've seen that road before⁠⁠
It always leads me here, lead me to your door⁠⁠
- The Beatles⁠ 🎶⁠⁠
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Your front yard is one of the first things visitors see when they arrive at your house – so you want to make it stand out. ⁠⁠
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Should you dress it up with colourful flowers, or keep it stripped back and simple? ⁠⁠
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Should you add fancy garden edging, or create a pretty stone path? ⁠⁠
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There are so many options and that’s why I’ve put all of these wonderful front garden ideas in the one spot for you.⁠⁠
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This path for our Burwood is clean, simple and low maintenance. Paths don't need to be complicated.  They need to look welcome and inviting. 💚
Who ... who ... who ... 🦉⁠⁠
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💚⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Did you know that owls represent wisdom, knowledge, change, transformation, intuitive development, and trusting the mystery?⁠⁠
⁠⁠
They are tied to the spiritual symbolism of “death” which brings about new beginnings with a higher understanding and an evolved perspective. Owls can show up when you are being asked to listen to your intuition. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
They have been around for a long time and feature in many cultures. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Archaeologists have found owl fossils as old as 58 million years!  Images of owls have been found on cave walls in France, among Egyptian hieroglyphs, and also in Mayan paintings.⁠⁠
⁠⁠
If you're into Feng Shui as I am, you can use a figurine in the form of an owl to improve the energy flow of your home.⁠⁠
⁠⁠
For example, if the flow of traffic is perpendicular to your home, it creates a poison arrow that could lead to a loss of health or prosperity. Positioning the owl figurine facing the traffic outside your home will deflect the poison arrow energy, clearing the way for only good energy - positive chi - to reach the entry of your home! 💚
The lovely Bougainvillea 💚⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ A star The lovely Bougainvillea 💚⁠⁠
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A star plant in my view!  Stunning Colour - Climber - Feature Plant - Good screening⁠!⁠⁠
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I grew up with this plant as it was pretty much in every garden I've experienced, in Malaysian suburbia. ⁠⁠
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Its an easygoing plant being drought-tolerant and well suited to most soil types (with good drainage). It's easily propagated too, something I learned from my mum who admittedly went a little berserk trying to get all colours of this plant into her garden and those with unusual leaf characteristics (spotted, variegated etc). She became quite the collector!! ⁠⁠
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What I love most about this plant is how intense they flower and how spectacular they look smothered in them.  Good specimens are breathtaking with their colours so vivid that you can see it in the distance!⁠⁠
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To be honest and to my dismay, planting schemes in KL have become quite boring with a heavy handed emphasis on foliage over flowers.  In my humble view, I miss the gardens of the past where even the not so greened thumbed person would have their bougainvillea's at the front of their house, proudly on display.  On my recent trip to KL. there were only few houses in my own area left that had these plants and they definitely stood out!⁠⁠
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If you'd like to try these, here's some tips to try:⁠⁠
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🌼They prefer all day sun but will also thrive even with half a day of sun. ⁠⁠
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🌼Fertilisers - use those with a low nitrogen count (encourages leafy growth) and a higher potassium count (to encourage flowering). ⁠⁠
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🌼Bougainvilleas may produce more thorns if they are growing strongly. Over fertilisation can cause this as can hard pruning. ⁠⁠
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🌼They love a long deep watering but don't overwater as their roots with rot out. ⁠⁠
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Let me know what your favourite Bougainvillea plant or colour is!!!💚
Construction about to start on this design done fo Construction about to start on this design done for my lovely Murrumbeena clients! ⁠⁠
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Relatively low maintenance, this garden focuses on a number of architectural plants that will differentiate itself from its surrounds!  It will have a Cloud pruned feature tree which I've been dying to include in my designs and the clients have been willing to take up the challenge! ⁠⁠
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The garden beds have an unusual layout to it to enable my lovely clients to walk through and maintain the garden themselves with ease.  I can't wait to see it all eventuate in person, soon!⁠⁠
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I went for a softer look this time rather than my usual pops of bright colours so the rest of the planting focuses on soft whites and pinks with complimentary materials that would bring it all together.  Pssttt... the rocks will have pinks in it too💚!! ⁠⁠
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Three little penguins 🐧🐧🐧⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Ga Three little penguins 🐧🐧🐧⁠⁠
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Garage art murals are a great idea to freshen up or add interest to a dull looking garage door. ⁠⁠
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You can either paint it your self if you have a steady hand or there are many websites that sell stick on ones. Change for each season. ⁠⁠
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This one was for our lovely client in Hawthorn.  Designed and painted by us to reflect the view of her garden past the doors! 💚
When the world wearies and society ceases to satis When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumonier⁠⁠
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This weekend, plan your escape to your garden.  Grab a book and your sun bed and enjoy. ⁠⁠I know I did all that today and loved every minute of it! 💚🥂
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Have a wonderful Easter and long weekend everyone!💚
Stepping stones can make a great design statement Stepping stones can make a great design statement in your garden and they are a way to minimise wear and tear on your lawn.⁠⁠
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You can use them to help create a fun pattern and if you have a lot of space and gardens on your property, you can use them to create a multitude of pathways. ⁠⁠
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Stepping stones can also be a great way to lead people to a hidden area, such as a secret garden, courtyard, or a water feature. ⁠⁠
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Be sure to add visual interest around the stones by framing the pathway with colorful blooms and lush greenery.⁠⁠
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Where will your stepping stones lead to? 💚
Excited to share that we won Best of Houzz 2021 fo Excited to share that we won Best of Houzz 2021 for Service!⁠⁠
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It's a warm feeling when your clients know that you really care about them and want to get the right results for them. ⁣⁠⁠
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Feeling grateful for the beautiful words received from our clients in their reviews and very appreciative of their time and effort in doing that for us!⁠⁠
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Thank you, @houzzau! ⁣⁠⁠
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@houzzpro_anz ⁠⁠
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#BestofHouzz2021
Bird of Paradise - Strelizia reginae ⁠😎⁠⁠ Bird of Paradise - Strelizia reginae ⁠😎⁠⁠
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This distinctive plant is one of the best known of all the tropical flowers and is also a cousin to the banana! 🍌. ⁠⁠
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Surprisingly, the Bird of Paradise is easier to grow than many tropical plants and makes for a vigorous, rapidly growing indoor plant. It can be moved outside in the summer, and in warmer climes, it thrives for half the year outside. ⁠⁠
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The Bird of Paradise typically flowers in the late winter or early spring, but under optimal conditions, it flowers at other times and they can grow to 5 to 6 feet tall. So pick a spot with this in mind. ⁠⁠
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Plant type: evergreen, forms a trunkless clump⁠⁠
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Height: to around 1.2m tall by 2–3m wide with age⁠⁠
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Foliage: similar to a small banana leaf but on a stem, very rigid, green to grey-blue.⁠⁠
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Climate: tropics, sub-tropics, warm temperate and sheltered areas of cold temperate.⁠⁠
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Soil: light, free-draining with additional compost at planting time.⁠⁠
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Position: warm and sunny with protection from harsh or cold winds, will tolerate some shade.⁠⁠
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Feeding: annual application of controlled-release fertiliser.⁠⁠
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Watering: must have reliable moisture during hot, dry weather. 💚
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What is rock mulch? | Inspiring Landscape Solutions